


Delicate.

by mw4vt9



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-26
Updated: 2018-12-26
Packaged: 2019-09-27 13:28:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17162822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mw4vt9/pseuds/mw4vt9
Summary: Dive bar on the east side, where you at?Phone lights up my nightstand in the blackCome here, you can meet me in the backDark jeans and your Nikes, look at youOh damn, never seen that color blueJust think of the fun things we could do- Delicate by Taylor Swift





	Delicate.

One accusation from Morgan Edge, one insistence that the lead poisoning happening throughout the city was Lena Luthor’s fault, had been enough to get shareholders trying to sell, the board threatening to get rid of her, and Lena’s reputation she had built in National City to go right through the toilet.

Lena’s reputation had truly never been worse. She’d done all she could, explained over and over again, even had Supergirl backing her up. It helped, a little, but it didn’t stop the way people looked at her side ways, the way her contribution to the hospital had been met with sneers and suspicious eyes.

It’d been what had led Lena to a dive bar on the east side of town, a dingy place with dark lighting, a pool table that desperately needed upholstering, and a glass of cheap whiskey on the rocks. Glass after glass to try to fight off the comments over the last few days, the hateful words, and the disapproving stares. The comparisons to Lex had rolled in, barely minutes after the accusation had been made.

Now, Lena just drank, hoping nobody noticed her as she easily settled from sober to tipsy. That tipsy led to a desire, a desire not to go home alone, but who in National City would want to go home with Lena Luthor after the past few days? Certainly, nobody that valued their own reputation, certainly nobody who knew about hers.

Lena mused it over until suddenly she wasn’t alone, lost in her own thoughts, but a redhead sliding into the seat next to her own, quickly ordered a shot of whiskey. As soon as the bartender sat it on the bar, she downed it, before ordering another.

And Lena took the time to take her in. Red hair, a striking jaw line, a black shirt, dark jeans, and a pair of Nike tennis shoes. Lena thought about Lillian in that moment, what she would think of the woman sitting next to Lena, how much she’d look down on her, but Lena found herself gravitating towards her.

Just as Lena was about to look back at the bar to order a drink, blue eyes make contact with Lena’s green, and Lena stops in her tracks.

She’s never seen that color blue before, getting lost in the crystal light that reflects off of them. A smirk plays at the red heads lips as they just look at each other.

“Can I get you ladies anything else?” the bartender asks, breaking the moment.

“Whiskey, double, for both of us,” Lena hears the woman say, struck in the way her mouth moves, that velvety voice that’s a little smoky, a little deep, and sends a spike right through Lena’s chest.

They drink their drinks, not saying a word, until a hand comes to rest on Lena’s knee, slowly traveling up her thigh until it rests somewhere a little too precarious for public. There is a decision to be made here, a nod or a shake of her head, a night wrapped around this stranger or a night alone.

Lena covers the other woman’s hand with her own and nods, barely perceptible. They both throw money on the bar, the other woman’s hand grabbing Lena’s to pull her out on the sidewalk and into the night.

Lena finds herself on top of the mysterious woman, whose name is Alex, only minutes later, hands tangled in red hair, blunt nails scraping at Lena’s bare back. Lena sees her phone light up on the nightstand, a call from Jess, the only light in the room. It stops ringing, the room going black again. Lena loses herself in the anonymity of the moment, in calloused hands that trail down every single inch of her body. She loses herself in a hot mouth and skillful hands. And she falls apart, over and over again, until led poisoning and Morgan Edge are the furthest thing from her mind.

__

Lena finds herself here, over and over again, dive bars on the east side, Alex’s third floor apartment in a rundown brick building not far from the bar itself. Alex’s fingers tangled in her hair, and Alex’s mouth hot on her neck. Over and over again until Lena craves it, until Lena finds herself thinking about it throughout her workday, until Lena finds herself wondering more about the woman whose bed she shares more than her own now.

Lena takes the chance, one morning as the sun comes up, when she’s lying in Alex’s bed, the woman lying next to her, nothing but a thin sheet covering bare torsos.

Lena knows it’s a delicate subject, likely going to shatter the illusion of the mystery they’ve been able to build and maintain.

“I’d like to invite you over to my house,” Lena finally lets herself say, lets herself hope.

“For what?” Alex asks, voice husky from fatigue.

“Dinner,” Lena says, “and you can stay if you’d like.”

“Sounds like there is a catch,” Alex says, pulling Lena close to kiss her cheek, a distraction, and Lena knows it.

“Well, a few of my friends would be there too,” Lena admits.

“You want me to meet your friends?” Alex asks, starting to bite along the column of Lena’s throat, already getting her going even though they’ve been at this for hours.

“Friday, be there at 7:00,” Lena says, as she snuggles deeper into Alex. Alex doesn’t say anything, minutes go by until she is peacefully asleep, leaving Lena wondering if she’ll even show up.

__  
Fifteen minutes until seven, Lena has never been more nervous, but it feels like a necessary step. Asking Alex to come to the west side of town, to her twelfth floor penthouse, when they’d spent their whole time in Alex’s world. Lena had asked her to dress nicely, a change up from Alex’s usual casual. Lena had admitted to herself weeks ago that she liked Alex. Now, she has to see if all they were going to be were dive bars on the east side, or if they could be anything else, anything more.

The doorbell rings, only an instant between Lena’s concerned exhale and when she opens the door. And god Lena’s entire body hums at the sight of her, of Alex who had ditched the dark jeans and Nikes, of Alex who is standing in her doorway wearing navy blue dress pants and a crisp white t-shirt, a navy blue tie loosely tied around her neck, and a gold watch adoring her wrist as she hands a bottle of wine to Lena.

She watches Alex take in her dress and heels, something that Alex hadn’t really seen her in yet.

“You look beautiful,” Alex says as she steps inside, eyes roaming around Lena before she checks out the space.

“And you look so handsome,” Lena says back, stepping closer as Alex’s hands land easily on her hips. And looking into Alex’s blue eyes and this striking outfit, she lights up like a mansion with a view, like the moment between hearing a confession of love and falling into your lover’s arms.

Lena learns more about Alex than she ever thought she would over dinner with Sam and Jack, both visiting from out of town. She learns that Alex is a government agent, currently working in a lab, working regularly with Supergirl.

“I have a friend that works with Supergirl pretty regularly,” Lena comments.

“Who?” Alex asks, momentarily confused before recognition seems to settle on her face.

“Kara,” Lena says, “I just met her last week. She works for CatCo and did a profile on some recent scientific developments at L Corp.”

Alex snorts, actually snorts, a genuine laughter in her voice that Lena hasn’t seen much of. “That’s my sister,” Alex finally says.

“Small world,” Lena grins.

She learns that Alex is from Midvale, that Alex is intense and funny and smart and more charming that Lena had given her credit for, and Lena knows she’s falling. She can tell Jack and Sam both know it too.

When they leave, she finds herself sitting on the couch with Alex, heels kicked off to the side.

“You got a bedroom in this place?” Alex grins, that same tone in her voice right before she kisses Lena breathless.

Lena takes her hand, leading her upstairs. She knows she’ll never forget the echoes of Alex’s footsteps on her stairs.

When Alex’s fingers tangle in her hair, pulling her down into a frenzied kiss, Lena wants to make promises, whispered sweet nothings into the night, but she knows she can’t.

When they’re done, when Lena is breathless and barely able to move, Alex untangles from her to head downstairs, coming back with two glasses of bourbon.

They drink them quietly, the orgasms and the alcohol lulling Lena into a feeling of euphoria. 

Alex falls asleep before she does, and Lena watches and wonders. Wonders if Alex ever dreams about her, wonders if Alex will ever truly be hers. Because when she looks into blue eyes, she feels it, a burning desire to call Alex hers. A burning need to have Alex in her heart instead of constantly in her head.

When Lena wakes up in the morning, Alex wrapped around her, she knows she has to admit it.

__

It takes a week before she feels like she’s going to explode, needing to get it out. As she watches Alex sit on her couch, nursing a glass of scotch, and smiling that one corner of her mouth smile at her that usually means Lena’s going to be on her back very soon, she takes the time to stop and sit next to Alex.

“I like you Alex,” Lena gets out, barely above a whisper.

At Alex’s raised eyebrow, Lena continues. “My reputation has never been worse, and you’re still here. I know feelings are delicate. I know you have no intentions of making promises to me.”

“You want more?” Alex asks in a rush of breath, like she knew it was coming.

“You’re in my head, Alex,” Lena admits. “Everything about you. Yes, I want more. I want holding hands and kissing and diner dates out and snuggling while watching movies.”

Alex pauses, not saying much of anything, and Lena balks. “Is it cool that I said all that?”

“If that’s how you feel,” Alex responds, not looking at Lena.

“If you want to keep this as just us having sex, I think I can do that, but I had to tell you,” Lena admits.

“I like you too,” Alex finally says. “I don’t really give a shit about your reputation.”

Lena finds herself clamoring into Alex’s lap, pulling her in for a firm kiss, Alex’s hands immediately tangling in her hair, pulling lightly at her scalp.

Lena wonders, as they pull apart, if Alex has ever been touched like Lena touches her, if Alex has been in love before. Lena doesn’t want to share.

“I want you,” Lena whispers, lips an inch from Alex’s.

“You’ve got me,” Alex says before they’re kissing again.

That night, when Alex touches her, it’s the most delicate way Lena has ever been touched. It isn’t as good as a promise, but it’s enough now.


End file.
